Florentijn Hofman’s Humorous Installations Engage with Social Issues

Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman travels the world creating playful, site-specific artworks with the help of local residents. At a first glance, Hofman’s works brim with whimsy and nostalgia for childhood with their brightly colored, toy-like appearance. His monument-scale pieces engage with the local culture of the places where they are installed, often encouraging a conversation about social issues through humor and the element of surprise. Slow Slugs, for example, is a sculpture of two slugs constructed from plastic bags. The slugs were made to ascent the stairs of a Catholic church in Angers, France, to symbolize the journey to death. Hofman’s enormous Rubber Duck floated in bodies of water in Australia, Japan and Europe to symbolize the hope for a world without borders. In Sao Paolo, Hofman created a giant monkey out of flip-flops with the help of local students. Take a look at some of the artworks below, images courtesy of Florentijn Hofman.